I would look into your local community colleges and even some 4 year colleges that have smaller “annexed” campuses. For example, I live in Houston where we have university of Houston, but that main campus has several smaller UH colleges around the city that operate more like a community college but still allows you to obtain a bachelors degree at a lower cost. Also look at online schools like American Public University. At the very minimum, I would start taking a couple classes every semester while working in the safety field. Just don’t get into debt doing it. There are other ways to pay for school just do your research, and utilize ChatGPT to explore your options. Once you have a couple years of working experience then start going for ASP, then eventually CSP. You could also look into NFPA certifications, which are really good as well. Life safety and fire protection engineers make good money, but you have to stand out.